“There will be no golden shortcut”

Creative Career Conundrums is a weekly advice column from If You Could Jobs. Each week their selected panel of professionals from the creative industry answers your burning career questions to help you navigate the creative journey.

This week’s question:

I’m a graphic designer who studied at a university where the design education just didn’t go very deep. We learned the basics, but not much beyond software and simple assignments. Now that I’m working and growing on my own, I often feel like I missed out on a core part of what makes strong, thoughtful design. Things like composition, typography, creative direction, or how to develop a style with intention.

Sometimes I look at designers who went to top art schools and wonder how they gained such a clear eye for proportion, balance, and detail. I know some of this comes from experience, but I feel a bit like I’m patching holes with online tutorials instead of having that solid foundation others seem to have.

How do you rebuild that foundation later? Can someone who didn’t have that start still reach the same level, not just technically but creatively? And how can you stay confident when you’re building your design voice backwards? I have a feeling I’m not the only one who’s felt this way.

How can I rebuild the graphic design foundation I missed by not studying at a big design school? And how do I stay confident while doing it on my own?

Alex Bec, cofounder of It’s Nice That, Creative Lives in Progress and If You Could Jobs:

Thanks so much for this thoughtful question; and one I’m sure lots of our readers will have some empathy for! I’m from the same kind of design education – educated at a university that was brilliant on so many things, but maybe not so on the technical foundations of design, so I feel your struggle.

Let’s get straight to it. You can definitely rebuild foundational knowledge later in a career. No doubt. Perhaps you have even more chance of doing so due to your head start in understanding the subject before you begin, so don’t lose hope.

Saying that, I don’t believe mastery or expertise in anything comes quickly, or easily. To build the confidence, or poise that you’re speaking of takes years (if not decades) to truly develop – it won’t be a case of finding the right online tutorial, or evening class.

My guess is that the designers you’re looking up to and comparing yourself to probably felt exactly the same as you about their education – but they were dogged and unrelenting in the honing of their craft. I also bet those same designers you revere still regularly lose confidence and doubt themselves, no matter what they put on social media. So know you’re just on the same path as them, and be under no illusion it came easy for anyone…

Practically speaking, you can get the education in so many different ways now; through reading books, listening to podcasts, watching online tutorials, seeking out new courses or influences – but that bit for me is irrelevant. There will be no golden shortcut. The actual task at hand here is being resilient and dedicated enough to go to your desk every day, practice and perhaps most importantly, get out there and make sure you’re getting the right experience.

I think I learnt 99% of my design skills and knowledge after I left university. From being curious, excited, open to failure and seeking out opportunities to ask advice from those I admired. Email your favourite designer, ask for the chance to sit next to them on a project, at a conference, to show them you work, or other ways to pick up little tips here and there.

So my answer is annoying really (sorry): you just have to keep going. Keep practicing. Keep sharing your work. Keep asking questions. Keep reaching out to those you admire. Keep seeking honest feedback from people who will tell you the truth. Keep celebrating the wins. Keep reflecting on the challenges. Keep on, keeping on.

Which in itself, especially at moments of economic uncertainty like the industry is facing now, is no small ask – but you were curious enough to write to us, so just because of that, I know you’re clearly more driven than 99% of the other people in your position. You got this.

In answering your creative career conundrums we realise that some issues need expert support, so we’ve collated a list of additional resources that can support you across things that might arise at work.

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